This year, in many areas, it is more apparent due to all the strange weather we have experienced.
Where do we start our tidy-up?
In the geographic borders at Dunedin Botanic Garden, I often start with the herbaceous plants.
These are perennial plants that often die back to the ground each winter, springing back into growth when temperatures warm up.
It is not quite as straightforward as just going in and cutting all the vegetation back to the ground in autumn.
Cutting back too early can result in the plant growing away again the same season and the fresh growth being caught by frosts.
This can happen with some of the salvias in the Botanic Garden Mexican border. They are best left until last, when the temperatures are cold enough to stop them growing.
When cutting back the untidy old or brown foliage and stems, I leave 5cm above the soil so I can remember where the plant is.
We all think we can remember where they are, but in the spring when you want to plant those new plants, knowing the location of established plants is essential.
This is a great time of year.
At last you can see all those weeds that have been hiding and stop them from seeding, and rake up all the leaves, leaving a tidy clean bed for the winter.
- Dylan Norfield is the curator of the Geographic Collection and Arboretum at Dunedin Botanic Garden.
